EN: Good morning everyone! It’s December, Christmas is nearly here and I feel rather shattered. It was a very long year with lots of highs but I am really looking forward to sleeping in, inhaling great food and lying on the sofa with my cat and watching crap on Netflix! ONLY 3 MORE DAYS TO GO!

EN: Let’s get this Blogpost started: My 4th coat of the winter season! I had promised myself, earlier this year, I this winter, I would make myself a range of coats and jackets and I have done just that. I’m still not sure how on earth I managed to make 4 coats over a span of 2 months…and while I still have plans for 2 others…. I REALLY NEED TO SLEEP… SOO MAYBE NEXT YEAR??

EN: I sewed up the StyleArc Stella Coat, a really chic wrap coat with a mandarin collar. I’ve made up a few things from StylArc in the past, so I knew to order a size 10 and had it sent to me from Australia. The pattern arrived within a week. I didn’t bother making a muslin. Instead I measured out the pattern pieces and decided “It’ll fit!” and for once I was right! HAHAHAHA

EN: The fabric I used was a wonderful wool/cashmere coating from The Sweet Mercerie. The price is quite steep, but totally worth it. The fabric is thick and soft and fluffy and I have no regrets purchasing it. I ironed on a thin interfacing to all pieces to make the coat a bit more sturdy and sewed it up without any alterations. All the seam allowances are marked on the pattern pieces, and I didn’t bother using the instructions…. At this point I’ve made up so many jackets and coats, that I just sew up things my way.

EN: I used a satin crepe from the Birmingham Ragmarket, that I bought a number of years ago. It took me about 2 weeks to finish this coat: First I cut out all the pieces, and then spent really long days at the office, and then we had guests and to top it all off I had to fly to Italy on business. When I finally finished the coat on Sunday I went to take a nap on my bed. HAHAHAHAAH

EN: I also knitted this Ludlow scarf. Making this scarf is a bit of a long story… I had initially started making up this scarf 4 years ago, and abandoned it right before I moved to the UK. I stopped knitting during this time, which is a bit of a shame, as I really enjoy knitting to be honest. Anyway, fast forward to this summer, when a number of people I follow on IG started to pick up knitting and I decided I should have a look at my knitting UFOs… and then I found the Ludlow Scarf in a box, just waiting for me to finish it.

EN: I will not lie, this scarf uses up a ridiculous amount of wool… I think the final total was something like 14 balls of Alta Moda Fine from Lana Grossa. To add insult to injury, it turns out during my break from knitting, Lana Grossa decided to discontinue this line of yarn and I ran out – and couldn’t find it anywhere! At wits end, I sent off an SOS on Instagram begging for help and asking anyone if they had this wool in their stash. My dear friend Iris, who is based out of the Netherlands found a shop, that still sold this wool in this color, THANK YOU IRIS!!!!

EN: I knitted this hat a number of years ago and I really need to figure out what pattern I used… I can’t remember…so sorry. If I do manage to figure out where I got this pattern from , I promise to post it on my IG. I really, really love my coat but I really need to take a break from making such time intensive projects. I think I might just make some really easy things during the holidays.

EN: Good Morning Everyone! IT’S SNOWING!!!! You guys, I’m shocked that winter is here. The only good thing, regarding this change in weather is the fact that I finally get to wear all my cold weather clothes! Also, I don’t have to feel bad, that I am currently planning 5 more Coats – I mean a girl’s gotta have outerwear choices, right?

EN: Which brings me to today’s outfit: The Named Olivia Wrapdress and the Silvia Coatigan for Schnittchen. Both projects definitely fall under my more grownup fabric choices, black and grey and white that go with EVERYTHING! I actually made this coat for my guest blogpost for Schnittchen, that you can find here (IT’S IN GERMAN!).

EN: I’ve actually had the Olivia dress in my stash for the past 3 years… as a printed PDF….when I still taped up PDFs! Anyway, after seeing Nina’s version, I knew I need to board that train and sew my own OLIVIA, stat! I used this cotton Jersey from Like Sew Amazing and won’t lie when I mention the horrendous amount of fabric, you need for this project! YIKES!!!! I barely managed to squeeze out all the pieces using 2,5 meters of fabric. I sewed everything on my serger.

EN: I do need to apologize to my serger at this point. After badmouthing her, changing her blade, changing the thread brand to coats, oiling her and still having terrible results…some of the ladies who also went to the sewing retreat in Possenhofen (Damn I still owe you a blogpost for that.. SO SORRY!) told me to change the needle. I am so embarrassed to admit this, but I have NEVER EVER CHANGED THE NEEDLE ON MY OVERLOCKER!!!!! I’ve had this machine for 2 years, no wonder the stitches were terrible!!!! Once I put in new needles the stitches were perfect… I nearly shed a tear….I have now vowed to change the needles after every project, as I do this with my sewing machine!

EN: Now that my serger and I are besties again and I bought 30 Overlock needles from Amazon- we can get back to OLIVIA! I sewed her up in a size 40, next time I will use a size 38 as she’s a bit big. The instructions are a bit meager but you can still figure out what to do pretty easily. I didn’t stitch down the facing of the neckline, as I wanted to avoid the topstitching line and keep everything simple, but since the facing keeps trying to escape when worn, I’ll have to do this over the weekend.

EN: The only thing I really didn’t like about this pattern, was attaching the elastic to the seam allowances of the waistline. That was truly a horrible task. I can’t complain though, the dress turned out soooo well! I love her! I’m so pleased I’ve added another jersey dress to my winter wardrobe and I have been eyeing the Pilvi Dress from Named and think she will be my next project, so keep your eyes peeled!

EN: Good Morning, everyone! My vacation has come and gone and I cannot believe it’s been nearly 4 weeks since I got back. I did promise myself that I would make an effort and write a few posts about all the fabric shopping I did while I was in Southeast Asia. Which is why you can read all about fabric shopping in Singapore, today!

EN: I spent the first 19 years of my life in Singapore, but since I didn’t sew back then, I had no idea that there were so many great fabric shopping joints. Should you every find yourself in the Lion City and in need of fabric, board the MRT (Singaporean Tube) and make sure to disembark at Chinatown. Use the exit People’s Park Complex/OG (OG is a department store) and use the escalator. Once you reach the top, the OG will be on your right side and there should be a high-rise building on the left, with a rather big fruit stand on the left. THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO GO!!!

EN: On the right side of the fruit stand, you’ll find a staircase that will lead you to fabric paradise, situated on the first floor. When I was here last (about 2 years ago) there were about 8 fabric shops here. This time, there were about 20!!!! You’ll find everything from Liberty, to cotton, linen, specialty fabrics to quilting cotton –YAS!!! Some rather IMPORTANT information: Most shops are cash only enterprises… if you forgot to bring cash, don’t worry, there are 4 cash machines right next to the fruit stand to sort you out! LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!

EN: I have two favourite shops that I visit over and over again and always manage to snag a real deal: Maggie’s Textiles and Lye Nai Shiong. Maggie sells a fantastic variety of cotton, linen, gauze and viscose fabrics. I managed to snag an awesome Cotton + Steel fabric for ridiculous 12 SGD a meter, which would have cost me 20€ a meter back in Germany! I also bought some beautiful aubergine linen and pale blue polka dot canvas, to finally make the Portside Duffle from Grainline Studios.

EN: The other shop I wholeheartedly recommend is Lye Nai Shiong, which sells ALL THE NOTIONS! Not only is there air con (PRAISE THE LORD!!) but you will find a mouth-watering array of overlock cones in all the colours of the rainbow. The cones are mostly from COATS and are sold for 3-5SGD apiece. I bought loads and wait for it, Topstitching thread for jeans ON CONES!!!!! (5 Thousand meters for 8 SGD!!) If I think of the many times I bought 100 meters of Topstitching thread in Germany for the same price, I could cry.

EN: You will also find an insane amount of zippers in this shop. They are of high quality (just as good as YKK) and cost less than 1 SGD apiece. IMPORTANT: You’ll find rubber bands on the top left of the zipper shelf. Once you’ve decided which zips will be going home with you make sure to fasten all the zips that have the same length, with a rubber band.. or else you’ll get scolded at the till. (DON’T ASK ME HOW I KNOW THIS!!!)

EN: After you’ve gone crazy, bought all the fabrics and notions and bankrupted yourself, make your way back to the ground floor and treat yourself to a fresh and ice cold coconut and relax. YOU DESERVE IT!

EN: Good morning everyone! After abandoning my blog for 4 weeks, as I was on vacation and was then subsequently drowning in work… I am really looking forward to sharing my projects with you once again. Since we have now entered Autumn, it was time for a new coat.

EN: I should probably tart by mentioning, that I spent the last weekend before last in Posenhofen at the Starnberger Lake participating in a sewing retreat. I promise to drop a short blogost about that in the coming days. My plan was to replenish my autumn/winter clothes, after I purged a number of things in September, when it was time to store away the summer clothes.

EN: It was also time for a new coat. I had sewn one earlier this year, but I was not happy with the fit and the sleeves were just too short…Alas, this time I decided to sew up the Sew Over It Cocoon coat. I sewed up a size 12 with no alterations using thick red wool coating from Barry’s that I got in August, when I was in Birmingham on business.

EN: I had initially planned to interline the entire coat with thinsulate, however once I pinned the thinsulate and the lining to the coat and tried it on, everyone at the sewing retreat said it looked ghastly… they were right… CAN YOU SAY HUMPBACK FROM NOTRE DAME??? Anyway, since I hadn’t basted anything, I just pulled out the thinsulate, folded it and put it back into my sewing basket… it will be used for something else.

EN: I lined the coat with Art Gallery poplin and satin in the sleeve, which makes getting in and out of the coat easy. I’m quite happy with the color combo of the red coating with the black and white lining. I hand sewed on a snap, that the lovely Simone gifted to me, as I not only managed to forget to pack my scissors but also all my buttons and snaps… SERIOUSLY????

EN: I’d like to give a big shout-out to Anna, who took these pictures of me at Lake Starnberg. It’s always nice when someone takes your photo and understands how you’d like to show off your new project. Also, let get real trying to take snap with your tripod gets old really, really quickly.

PS: The dress I’m wearing is the Vogue 8825, you can find details about it in the Blogpost I wrote for the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network!

EN: Good morning, everyone and hello from Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon, as the locals call it. It is hot, the food is sensational and we’ve already visited all the markets and bought souvenirs and fabric and I have no idea how on earth we’re going to cart everything back to Singapore… as we only booked hand luggage… UUUPPPS!

EN: I got the Mister a guided Vespatour through Saigon, for his birthday this year. The tour spans over 4 hours and includes a very yummy lunch. We got to see beautiful parts of the city, we probably wouldn’t have found on our own and got a real feel for Saigon

EN: After booking the tour, it became abundantly clear… that I had nothing to wear for cruising about on a Vespa… especially since my closet consists of dresses (nearly 90%) and skirts (at least 5%) and really didn’t want to wear jeans at more than 30 degrees… this of course meant I need to brainstorm some ideas at the very last moment… LE SIGH!

EN: At some point I remembered that Lisa Comfort had shown off a Rosie Dress/ Ultimate Culottes Hack on her Vlog and that I really, really liked it. Since I own both patterns, had 3 meters of black viscose twill in my stash, that I had no plans for, I got cracking.

EN: Let’s get down to the construction of this jumpsuit. I cut a size 12 for both the bodice as well as the trousers. I lengthened the bodice by 1 inch and assembled the bodice first. This is an important step to make as you’ll have to move the darts on the trousers, so they will match up with the princess seams on the bodice. That is in fact, the only tricky thing of this hack!

EN: I sewed in an invisible zip, that went in perfectly on the first try, YAS!!! And lined the bodice with the same fabric for a clean finish…. which turned out not to be my smartest idea… the neckline totally bagged out by the end of the day, I think I might just take the bodice apart again and line it with a lawn or something to make it sturdier. The jumpsuit hack was a really easy project and I didn’t only wear it for the Vespatour!! I love this hack and really can’t believe that I waited until the very last moment to make it up… I could have worn this to the office with a nice cardi!!! LE SIGH!!! NEXT YEAR!!!

EN: Anway, I’m currently slurping my second bowl of Pho for the day, and really want another Banh Mie Sandwich… not going to lie,I have no idea how on earth I will ever be able to go back to eating German food, once I go home!! Wishing you all an excellent rest of the week!

EN: Good morning everyone and hello September! The temperatures have gone down and I am so pleased that I get to pull out all my jackets from the cellar and start wearing snuggly, warmer clothes without breaking out in a sweat! As mentioned in my post from last week, Sew Over It released their new Ebook “My capsule wardrobe: Work to weekend” and today I’d like to show you my new Anna Trench Coat and Kate dress.

EN: After showing you both my Kate skirt and blouse last week, it was time to break out the Kate dress. I sewed it up in a size 12 using crepe from the Sew Over It Online shop. After successfully completing the blouse and the skirt, I knew how to put the dress together. I lengthened the bodice by 1 1\4 inches, which in retrospect was a bit too much…. I think it’s just a tiny bit to lomg at the waist… but the print is so busy, th@5 you barely notice it…. at least I hope so… SOB!

EN: If you chose to use a drapey fabric, I recommend ironing on the interfacing onto the fabric first, before cutting out the collar… as I ended up cutting out 4 collars and each one of them was substantially different…. WHY???? I have to say, I really like wearing it to the office and think that I will pair it with some tights, once autumns starts kicking off, properly.

EN: But lets get down to the crown jewel of the EBook: The Anna Trench! When I first saw the photo of the Anna Dress, it was love at first sight! I really love sewing jackets and coats and Anna has some really special features: a wonderful collar, the epaulettes, the on trend length and the inseam pockets! I should mention the Anna is not lined, but you can draft a lining quite easily, if you really wanted to do so.

EN: I sewed up Anna in a size 12 with this gabardine from Alfatex that is currently priced at 3,90 Euros!!!! MADNESS!!! The two buttons are from my last trip to Misan in London and I think they go together really well. I chose to bind all the seams with bias binding ( the instructions have you either use your overlocker or a zigzag stitch to finish the seams…but I’m extra…in case you haven’t noticed…hahahaha) I think the contrasting bias binding gives the coat a little bit more character. I used the same fabric as the bias binding for the inseam pockets. ( In case you were wondering, I made the bias binding with some leftover fabric, I had in my stash!)

EN: I really love my new Anna Mac, and as I didn’t own a classic beige trench, Anna has closed another gap in my wardrobe. I feel like you could probably convert this pattern into a winter coat with a alterations…I’m actually planing a proper post about my winter coat plans, so watch this space! Wishing you all a great start to the week!

EN: Good morning, everyone! Summer has finally dialed down a bit (PRAISE THE LORD!!!! I COULDN’T HANDLE THE HEAT, ANYMORE!!) I finally managed to carve out some time to sew again and start planning my autumn wardrobe. My cat Henry is back to acting like a cat and is no longer napping in the cellar, 18 hours a day. LOL!!

EN: Today, I’d like to introduce you to the new Indie Label Pearson & Pope, by my fabulous sewing friend Michelle! Those of you who watch “Scandal” are probably grinning by now, as the Label is a bit of an homage to the main character Olivia Pope, who had a swoon-worthy closet! Michelle, deliberately chose to design modern, elegant business attire after noticing that there wasn’t really anything out there for the professional sewist, and I will be honest, she hit the mark!

EN: Her first collection, consists for 5 patterns, 2 very different skirts, 2 tops and a dress, all named after her mom and her aunts, which I thought was very sweet. I was lucky enough to pattern test the Catherine Blouse and the Agnes Skirt, besides being enamored with the pattern, the fit of said pattern, I was also really impressed with the instructions.

EN: Michelle doesn’t just want her customers have a chic work wardrobe, she also wants to teach you some new techniques to finish off your new garments, in a professional manner. For example the pencil skirt comes with a zip guard, something I have found in my RTW clothes, but have never encountered in any of my patterns (Indie or Big 4) and you finish the waistband with bias binding, which just happens to be my new favorite finishing method!

EN: So let’s get down to the nitty, gritty: I used fabrics from Pretty Mercerie to sew up the skirt and the top. For the Skirt, I cut out a size 14 and widened all the darts by 0,5cm, I think I might just cut out a size 12 next time. I used the same fabric as the top for the zip guard, the bias binding and the inside pockets. I think it brings everything together very nicely.

EN: For the Catherine Top, I also chose the size 14 with no alterations. The fabric from Pretty Mercerie is a lovely viscose and I am seriously kicking myself, for not ordering more. I chose black viscose from my stash for the tie and think that the contrast between all the fabrics look quite good, no? I also like the 70s collar which is currently on trend.

EN: I’ve already worn this outfit to the office a few time and have also combined the top with some jeans, which I really love and think that this outfit definitely has pepped up my work wardrobe. I’ve already added another navy Agnes skirt to my work attire and have a feeling that there will be another Catherine blouse thrown in the mix, soon-is. Have a great start to the week!